Category Archives: Space Travel

Following is a transcript of the video.

Reporter: And a smooth, controlled hover back home, and touchdown.

Abby Tang: This is Blue Origin's New Shepard Passenger Rocket.

It's designed to take up to six space tourists for short antigravity experiences at the Krmn line.

That's the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. This is the company's 12th test flight, and it's 11th successful landing. This is the third version of the vehicle.

But other New Shepard Rockets have been launched into space and back. This particular rocket now holds the record for the New Shepard rocket with the most trips to space, six. But all those test flights have been without passengers, as Blue Origin is still making sure the vehicle is ready for them.

The company originally said it would be ready to carry its first crew in 2019, but has slowed those plans as tests continue. The fourth version of the rocket, the one that's meant to hold people, hasn't flown since May as the company has been completing more safety tests. Most recent tests have included a crash test dummy nicknamed Mannequin Skywalker. It's equipped with sensors that measure how future customers could be affected by the flight.

Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Billionaire Jeff Bezos. With the mission of lowering the costs of and increasing access to space travel. It plans to accomplish this by leaning into reusability. Traditional rockets are a one time only kinda deal. But New Shepard was designed with a vertical takeoff, vertical landing system that allows the company to reuse parts of the rocket with minimal refurbishment. Here's how it works. New Shepard is made up of two main components: the rocket and the capsule. The rocket propels the vehicle, and the capsule holds the crew. When it takes off, it reaches a height of 62 miles or a 100 kilometers. At this point, the capsule separates from the rocket. Both pieces will return to Earth. The rocket using its engines to propel itself back down, and the capsule using parachutes.

Even though New Shepard hasn't carried any people yet, the vehicle has been used to carry various payloads for companies, universities, and NASA. This launch includes a NASA space garbage recycling experiment playfully named Oscar, a Columbia University student's experiment studying the effects of weightlessness on cells, and even the winning entries of an Art in Space contest hosted by the band Okay Go for middle and high school students. With a likely 2020 date for the first manned launch, Blue Origin has yet to start selling tickets to the public or announce a price point. For now, the company's focus is on making sure New Shepard is safe and ready for humankind's next giant leap.

Reporter: And touchdown, just beautiful.

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Watch Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket go to space and land back on Earth - Business Insider

SpaceXs Dragon supply ship in the grasp of the International Space Stations robotic arm Sunday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now

A commercial Dragon supply ship loaded with genetically-enhanced mice, a beer brewing experiment, a CubeSat developed by Mexican students and other scientific research payloads arrived at the International Space Station Sunday.

The SpaceX-owned robotic cargo freighter completed a three-day trek from a launch pad at Cape Canaveral with 5,769 pounds (2,617 kilograms) of supplies, experiments and hardware for the space station and its six-person crew.

Space station commander Luca Parmitano captured the Dragon spacecraft with the space stations Canadian-built robotic arm at 5:05 a.m. EST (1005 GMT) Sunday. The robotic arm maneuvered the supply ship to a berthing port on the stations Harmony module later Sunday, setting the stage for astronauts to open hatches and begin unpacking the fresh cargo.

The Dragon spacecraft lifted off Thursday on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on SpaceXs 19th resupply flight to the space station.

Along with 40 genetically-engineered mice and a beer experiment sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, the Dragon spacecraft delivered a Japanese Earth-imaging instrument and a payload to investigate the behavior of flames in confined spaces in microgravity.

The Dragon capsule that arrived at the station Sunday is making its third trip to the orbiting research complex. SpaceX recovered and refurbished the spaceship after two previous resupply missions in 2014 and 2017.

Here is a break-down of the Dragon spacecrafts supply load. The figures below do not include the mass of cargo packaging, which is included in NASAs overall payload mass:

The 40 mice delivered to the space station Sunday willhelp researchers gauge the effectiveness of an experimental drug to combat muscle and bone atrophy.

Eight of the 40 mice have been genetically-engineered to lack myostatin, a protein that acts to limit muscle growth in animals. The muscle-bound, myostatin-free mice or mighty mice are joined by four other groups of rodents, including groups that will be given an experimental drug in space to block myostatin activity and promote muscle growth.

All 40 mice will return to Earth alive on the Dragon capsule in early January. Scientists will administer the same myostatin protein blocker to some of the mice after they are back on the ground to assess how the drug affects their rate of recovery.

The focus of this project is going to be to determine whether getting rid of myostatin in mice that we send to the International Space Station can prevent, or at least mitigate, the loss of muscle due to microgravity, saidSe-Jin Lee, professor at the Jackson Laboratory and University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and principal investigator for the rodent research experiment.

The drug trial to be administered to the mice on the space station also inhibits activin, a protein that regulates bone mass.

By blocking activin with this drug, bone densityincreases significantly, said Emily Germain-Lee, a co-investigator on the experiment and professor atUniversity of Connecticut School of Medicine. And as you probably know, astronauts who spend a lot of time in space lose not only musclemass, but also bone mass.

Anything that can be done to prevent muscle and bone loss would be veryimportant to maintaining the health of astronauts during space travel, Germain-Lee said. But loss of bone mass is also a huge healthproblem for people here on Earth. There are actually lots of diseases that lead to bone loss in both children andadults. And, ofcourse, osteoporosis is a big health issue for people who are elderly or bedridden.

Bytesting this experimental drug in life subjected to microgravity, we hope to be able to test the therapeutic strategiesfor combating both the bone loss and muscle lossthat occur in lots of different conditions, Germain-Lee said.

Anheuser-Buschs experiment will study the malting of barley in microgravity, which could lead to the brewing of beer in space, the company says.

Gary Hanning, director of global barley research at Anheuser-Busch, said the companys malting experiment aboard the Dragon cargo mission is the third in a series of investigations looking at how the environment of space affects brewing processes.

This series has been constructed to look at the impact ofspace environment on the germination process of barley, Hanning said. So the germination processes is taking seed and creatingthe new plant from that, and so thats a very key step in the life cycle of any plant, and particularly important tomalting barley. So much of our research on earth is focused on seed germination and the environmental impactsthat would affect seed germination, as well as physiological effects.

Hanning said Anheuser-Buschs experiments in space have given the companys research team a new perspective.

From our previous studies on the space station, weve noted that the gene expression thats the genes thatare turned on or turned off and to what degree are different on the space station then they are on Earth, he said. We thinkits a response to the stress, because its an abnormal environment, so theres a stress related there. So geneexpression is a part of that cascade of events as part of germination.

The experiment will look at hardware solutions to support barley malting on the space station.

Malting is basically a biological process, Hanning said. It is to convert barley into a product called malt, which is used in a lot offood and beverage applications. Malting is actually a three-step process, he added, beginning with the steeping, or hydration, of barley grains, followed by germination and drying.

The Anheuser-Busch experiment launched with just 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of barley grains, separated into two units.

Another research payload aboard the Dragon spacecraft will allow scientists to observeflame behavior in confined spaces in microgravity. The combustion package includes solid fuel samples that will be ignited inside a protective enclosure on the space station.

We want to study how solid materials burn in different confined conditions, and how fire interacts with its immediate surroundings, saidYa-Ting Liao, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

It turns out this is a very hands-on experiment, said Paul Ferkul, an investigator on the confined combustion experiment. Were talking with the astronaut, were interacting with him, were telling him what to do, how to set the parameters. And he, in turn, tells us how its looking, what hes experiencing, and the astronauts are very glad to do this.

Its way outside their usual routine on the space station, so that helps us a lot because theyre enthusiastic for our work, and they make very good investigators because of that.

The Dragon capsules external cargo bay is loaded with a Japanese Earth-imaging instrument with high spectral sensitivity. TheHyperspectral Imager Suite, or HISUI, instrument will image Earths surface in 185 spectral bands, allowing scientists to distinguish between the composition and type of a range of vegetation, soil, rocks, snow, ice, and human-made objects like buildings, roads and other structures.

Using the robotic arm, the HISUI instrument will be mounted to a fixture outside the stations Japanese Kibo lab module. Its a follow-up to the Japanese-developed ASTER instrument on NASAs Terra satellite, which launched in 1999.

A new lithium-ion battery for the space stations solar array truss is also stowed inside the Dragon capsules unpressurized trunk. It will replace a battery flown to the station by a Japanese HTV cargo ship last year.

That battery was damaged by an electrical short soon after it was installed on a spacewalk.

Other equipment delivered to the space station included a robotic tool stowage platform to store leak detectors outside the space station, and upgrades toallow scientists to make subtle measurements of gravity using the Cold Atom Laboratory, a research facility inside the orbiting lab.

NASA and commercial teams have disclosed seven CubeSats stowed inside the Dragon spacecraft for deployment in orbit, including the first nanosatellite built in Mexico to fly to the space station.

Developed by students at theUniversidad Popular Autnoma del Estado de Puebla, orUPAEP, in Puebla, Mexico, the AzTechSat 1 spacecraft is a cube-shaped satellite that measures just 4 inches (10 centimeters) on each side. Its primary purpose is to demonstrate inter-satellite communications links with commercial Globalstar data relay satellites, a capability that could reduce the reliance of small spacecraft for data downlinks through limited passes over ground stations.

NASA provided a launch for AzTechSat 1, which is the fourth satellite to be entirely built in Mexico, and the first to fly to the International Space Station. Mexican officials hope the project provides students with experience and inspiration to grow a larger space economy in the country.

For Mexico, I hope this will lead to future research and telecommunications projects involving universities or new emerging companies, saidFrancisco Fernando Eugenio Urrutia Albisua, a vice president atUPAEP.

AzTechSat 1 will be ejected from a deployment mechanism outside the space station early next year.

Rosa Reyna Gonzalez Cancino, an engineering student at UPAEP, said her experience in building the AzTechSat 1 satellite has already helped her education.

Im actually taking my first class in satellite technology, so its a great advantage because I know basically everything theyre teaching me, she said. Of course, you learn better in practice than in just studying, so its a great advantage.

Another CubeSat delivered to the station Sunday, named Qarman, will gather data on the extreme conditions during re-entry into Earths atmosphere. The Qarman CubeSat is about the size of a toaster oven, and was developed by the Von Karman Institute in Belgium for the European Space Agency.

Sensors in the blunt forward end of the Qarman nanosatellite will collect data during re-entry on temperature, pressure and brightness, then the craft will transmit the data to scientists through the Iridium satellite network. The CubeSat is expected to survive re-entry, but not its impact with Earths surface, making it imperative to relay the measurements via the Iridium network, according to ESA.

Developed by a consortium of U.S. universities, companies and the Air Force Research Laboratory, the SORTIE CubeSat carries instruments to study the ionosphere, a layer near the boundary between space and Earths atmosphere that plays an important role in space weather.

A CubeSat named CryoCube inside the Dragon spacecraft will also be released from the station early next year. CryoCube is a partership between Sierra Lobo, an Ohio-based company, and NASAs Kennedy Space Center to prove low-cost technology that can cool payloads to cryogenic temperatures in space. The technology could help future missions keep cryogenic fluids, such as rocket fuel, cold for long durations in space.

Another tiny satellite named MakerSat 1 developed by students atNorthwest Nazarene University in Idaho is also packed inside the Dragon spacecraft. Designed to be quickly snap-assembled by astronauts on the space station, it will be mounted with its deployer to a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo freighter before it departs the complex Jan. 13.

The Cygnus will deploy MakerSat 1 soon after leaving the space station.

Two other NASA-sponsored CubeSats also launched on SpaceXs Dragon capsule for transfer and deployment from the Cygnus supply ship.

The Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space, or CIRiS, CubeSat will test the performance of a miniature Earth-observing instrument built by Ball Aerospace. The instrument on the CIRiS spacecraft about the size of a briefcase has applications in soil moisture observations in support of drought monitoring.

TheEdgeCube nanosatellite was developed by students at Sonoma State University, Santa Clara University and Morehead State University is designed to see ecosystem change over time.

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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SpaceX resupply mission reaches International Space Station - Spaceflight Now

Watch NASA Astronauts On A Spacewalk Outside The ISS

A couple of researchers are looking to understand how space travel can affect the biological processes of plants. According to the researchers, the findings of this study could also shed light on the effects of long-term spaceflights on humans due to their biological similarities with the leafy living organisms

For the study, researchers from the University of Florida launched their plants to suborbital space through Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. The plants were launched as part of a payload under NASA's Flight Opportunities program.

Studying Plants In Space

Since the New Shepard is currently on a suborbital trip in space, the planets have been taken beyond low-Earth orbit. According to the researchers, this will expose the plants to microgravity conditions as well as gravitational transitions. They speculated that these conditions will have an effect on calcium signaling, which is a natural response to external stimuli that occurs on a cellular level.

"Our very first spaceflight experiment indicated that being in space changes some aspects of calcium signaling," researcher Robert Ferl said in a statement. "And calcium signaling in particular is very similar between plants and animals, so we want to better understand that role in response to transitions in gravity."

Similarities Between Plants And Humans

The researchers are hoping that they'll be able to analyze the biological changes that plants will go through after a trip to suborbital space. They noted that a study regarding these changes can also be applied to humans and how they will be affected missions to outer space. According to the researchers, since humans and plants share many genetic traits, a study regarding the effects of space travel on flora could provide valuable insight as to how suborbital flights would biologically affect astronauts.

"About half of the genes in our bodies encode the exact same proteins in plants," researcher Anna-Lisa Paul explained. "And that's very exciting because it means that as we look at how plants behave in the absence of gravity, we can translate many of those basic biological processes to humans."

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Can plants help explain the effects of space travel on humans? - International Business Times, Singapore Edition

Starliner atop the Atlas V rocket, ready to launch.

Just in time for Christmas, NASA and Boeing have announced that the latters Starliner spacecraft will launch on an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, December 20 and itll even have some presents for the astronauts on board.

The monumentous mission, the first time Boeings Starliner vehicle will have launched to space, follows years of development and $4.2 billion in funding as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. Already this year, in March, SpaceX launch an uncrewed test flight of its Crew Dragon vehicle as part of the program.

Both Boeing and SpaceX are hoping to launch humans to the ISS for the first time in 2020 using these vehicles, which will be the first orbital human spaceflights from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011. And yesterday, Thursday, December 12, Starliner passed a key review that meant its crucial test flight would be going ahead as planned.

[NASAs Commercial Crew program] and our commercial industry partner [Boeing] held a Flight Readiness Review to prepare for the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the [space station] and back, NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard tweeted earlier today. We are go for launch on Friday!

Following its launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, currently scheduled for 6.36 A.M. Eastern Time on December 20, the CST-100 Starliner will reach the ISS in about 24 hours. The vehicle, which is capable of carrying up to seven people per flight, will then dock with the stations Harmony module.

It will remain attached to the ISS until Saturday, December 28, when it will then return to Earth. It is scheduled to land on the ground at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on that Saturday morning, descending to Earth via parachute. There are a number of backup launch and landing dates, however, if the mission is delayed.

Starliner will dock with the space station's Harmony module.

The goal of this mission is to prove that Starliner can successfully launch, dock, and return to Earth vital steps to verifying it is safe for humans to travel on. It will carry some useful cargo with it, however, including a test dummy called Rosie the Rocketeer, along with some treats for the astronauts.

[As] we approach the holidays, we will be bringing presents for the crew, said John Mulholland, vice president of Boeings commercial crew program, in a media teleconference yesterday.

If the mission is a success, it will be all systems go towards launching humans to space at some point next year. Mulholland said that was likely to be in the first part of 2020, while SpaceX are also hoping to fly humans in early 2020 on their Crew Dragon vehicle.

This uncrewed test flight is not just another contract milestone, said Phil McAlister, director of NASAs commercial spaceflight development program, reported SpaceFlight Now. Its just a phenomenal opportunity for us to learn the true performance of the spacecraft.

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We Are Go For Launch! Boeing To Fly Historic Starliner Mission To The International Space Station Next Week - Forbes

Image Credit: nienora/Shutterstock.com

Virgin Galactics long-anticipated commercial space flights could be finally ready for lift-off next year. They will be utilizing innovative 3D printing technology already used by its spin-off company Virgin Orbit.

Formed in 2017, Virgin Orbit was established as a small- to medium-sized satellite launch service. Using rockets to launch satellites into a low-Earth orbit, the company has been implementing 3D printing technology for the fabrication of rocket engine components. The company has also been collaborating with NASA to 3D print and test an engine combustion chamber. Furthermore, it was the first company in the US to make use of hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing with a machine developed by the Japanese company DMG Mori.

Using pioneering technology, Virgin Orbit has developed the LauncherOne rocket, a two-stage air launch to orbit rocket, created to fire smallsat payloads upwards of 300 kilograms into space. The rocket is made airborne via the carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl where the launch sequence is initiated at high altitude, sending payloads into a low-Earth orbit.

The partnership with NASA enabled Virgin Orbit to hone its hybrid manufacturing process, taking advantage of the skilled insights possessed by experts in the fields of combustion and additive manufacturing. During the tests, Kevin Zagorski, manager of propulsion advanced manufacturing at Virgin Orbit, stated, The information gained from our partnership with NASA will be key in applying these technologies to further improve cost, performance and lead time of Virgin Orbits propulsion systems for the LauncherOne vehicle.

When opening up new encounters with the space industry, Richard Branson knew that to maintain a steady footing, his enterprise would need to keep up with certain technological advances and take risks on developing new processes.

You dont learn to walk by following rules, you learn by doing, and by falling over.

Richard Branson, CEO, Virgin Group

The DMG Mori Lasertec 4300 3D hybrid is now enabling Virgin Orbit to manufacture rocket engine parts at the companys factory in Long Beach, California. Coming in at around the size of a bus, the machine facilitating the hybrid technology combines additive manufacturing with conventional subtractive methods of machining away excess material. The Lasertec 4300 can produce parts that have improved performance via material combinations such as Copper and Inconel.

The aim of Virgin Orbit is to completely overhaul the way in which the space industry thinks about rocket design and construction - while using automation to accelerate manufacturing time and reduce labor costs. For example, the time it takes to produce an engine part that previously took up to a year using traditional methods could potentially be reduced to just one month. This would not only stimulate the rocket manufacturing process but could also change the small rocket industry as a whole.

It is not only Virgin Orbit using cutting-edge hybrid 3D printing techniques to create and power a new generation of spacecraft. SpaceX made use of high-tech 3D printing technology to manufacture the cooling channels for Draco engines. Draco engines are installed on the Dragon spacecraft as well as main oxidizer valves for the Falcon 9s Merlin 1D engine. The 3D printed parts were fabricated in less than 48 hours whereas a part would have taken months to manufacture using traditional methods.

3D Printing offers the aerospace industry rapid, cost effective fabrication techniques that could revolutionize space travel soon.

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The Benefits of 3D Printing to the Space Industry - AZoM

STAR Wars fans will love this futuristic hostel where instead of bunk beds, you'll sleep in "Space Pods".

Far from a gimmick, each of the pods are equipped with everything from memory foam mattress to comfy pillows and duvet - and it's had rave reviews from previous guests.

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The Galaxy Pod Hostel is located in downtown Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

Unlike usual hostels, where you sleep in bunk beds, guests at the futuristic property features individual pods that are stacked on top of each other.

Aside from the comfy bedding, all of the pods have a security box, mirror, fans, power plug, a shelf, hangers and alarm clock.

Some even have TVs - just like a mini-hotel room.

You don't have to worry about not being able to fall asleep because someone has come back in the middle of the night and switched on the light - each of the pods have a privacy screen that can be closed.

And the pods have their own lights so you can play around with the light settings to find one that suits you.

The property is also great for families and couples.

They have couples' rooms with king-size bunk beds in and kids under 12 can share a bed with a parent for free.

There are also bigger rooms for those who are travelling as a groups, for example if you're on a stag do or a girls' trip.

Its listing explained: "We are located mid-way between there all the bars are and Laugardalur, and there are about 15 minutes walk both ways.

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"Laugardalur has a lot to offer especially for families. It has a big gym, swimming pool, an amusement park for kids, a zoo with Icelandic animals, a flower garden, skating range, tennis court etc.

"In the opposite direction you will find a great variety of restaurants and bars in the downtown."

Plus, there's also a shop right across the road so you can stock up on food and save on eating out as there's a kitchen on site as well.

A night in one of the pods start from 32.20 per person andGalaxy Pod Hostel has had rave reviews from previous guests, with a 9.0 rating on Hostelworld.

One person wrote: "This is the perfect place to stay in Reykjavik if you want to save money but still have your privacy.

"The pods were a little slice of luxury after a long day, with a stocked tv and plenty of space - enough to change in there. The space pods are really cool and would recommend to stay at least once.

"Bit pricier than other Reykjavik hostels but worth it. Breakfast is good with freshly made waffles. Conveniently located opposite a supermarket and a short walk from the centre of Reykjavik."

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Another added: "Come for the cool beds, stay for the breakfast! I was only going to stay a night to try out the pods, since it's 2-3 times the price of the cheaper hostels.

"But man, 1300 ISK for breakfast gets you unlimited waffles, fruit, meats and cheese slices, toast (Peanut butter! A rarity for homesick Canadians!), basic cereal, coffee, etc.

"Otherwise, the hostel is good. Nice big showers (on sulphury geothermal water though), clean bathroom and bedrooms. Awesome common areas."

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Disney is set to launch a Star Wars hotel experience in Orlando.

Sun Online Travel previously revealed some stunning space-age hotels you can stay in.

We also rounded up some of the most unusual places to stay.

Go here to read the rest:

You can now stay in a Star Wars-style hostel with space pods for beds and its perfect for familie - The Sun

One Redmond company is sending US back to the moon.

One Redmond company is sending US back to the moon.

One Redmond company is sending US back to the moon.

One Redmond company is sending US back to the moon.

Redmond company sending US back to the moon, beyond

REDMOND, Wash. -- One Puget Sound area company is slated to propel the United States back to the moon, and beyond. But in a way, it's part of a much bigger story.

Aerojet Rocektdynewas recently awarded a major contract from Lockheed Martin. It not only secures nearly a decade's worth of work for the Redmond company, it means that the propulsion systems on NASA's Orion spacecraft will come from Western Washington. Humankind is essentially on a launchpad into the future, with the engines currently priming -- the destination is farther than people have ever traveled. Companies like Aerojet Rockedyne are behind those engines.

For Ken Young, general manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne's Redmond operations, designing propulsion systems for the Orion vehicles is about a lot more than securing local jobs. It's about what humanity is about to develop, and the Puget Sound region's role in it. He points to the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s as an example.

The things that are going to come out of this that we have to develop, are going to have a huge impact on humankind, Young said. If you look back to the 60s, we now have satellite TV, and GPS. All of those things came because we had a space mission in the 60s. Now, as we go on to Mars, think about all the human things we have to learn about.

It also means that an often overlooked corner of the region's economy is further on the rise.

According to the Puget Sound Regional Council, the area's space economy is producing 6,200 jobs, contributing $1.8 billion to the state's economy. A2018 assessment produced by the PSRCstates that with massive aerospace and tech companies in the Seattle area, the region is ready for another economic phase fueled by space travel. It further notes that the local school systems should align with the needs of STEM fields so that local residents can grow into that future economy.

There is so much going on that people dont recognize, Young said. We are part of more than 1,000 companies in the Puget Sound are that are working in space.

The contract to design Orion's propulsion systems will have more than 400 people at Aerojet Rocketdyne working over the next decade. It also means that the company will rely on 138 suppliers in Washington -- many of which are small businesses.

Orionis the capsule that will take people to orbit the moon and back to its surface as part of NASA's Artemis missions (Artemis was Apollo's twin sister). This is the precursor to NASA embarking on humanity's next phase of space travel -- ultimately heading to Mars. The engines and propulsion systems will come from Redmond.

Artemis missions1 and 2 are well underway at this point. The contract with Aerojet Rocketdyne covers Artemis 3, 4, and 5.

The first mission with an Orion vehicle is slated to fly in late 2020. It will be an uncrewed mission that will send the vehicle around the moon. In 2022, the first crew in an Orion vehicle will make a similar trip.

From that point on, we are building the vehicles that will take humans and we will actually meet up with a lander to go back to the surface of the moon, said Mike Hawes, vice president and Orion project manager for Lockheed Martin.

The Orion vehicles are capsules which are not much bigger than what the Apollo missions used in the 1960s and 1970s. But the technology is far more advanced.

(Aerojet Rocketdyne) provides all the propulsion systems," Hawes said. "They provide propulsion for the crew module where the crew actually lives and works; the service module, which is most of our in-space propulsion; and they also provide a critical part of our launch-abort system which is the key safety factor. If there is an issue on the launch, it will carry the crew capsule away from danger and bring them back safely."

Were really expanding exploration of the solar system in a way we hadnt envisioned back in Apollo; this is a much bigger step forward he said. And ultimately, we build a Mars transport vehicle there around the moon, to head out to Mars.

Over the next several years, NASA plans to build a gateway station around the moon. NASA can use this station for transferring supplies, docking vehicles, and ultimately as a waypoint between the Earth and the moon.

Aerojet Rocketdyne grew out of another company called Rocket Research Corporation. It is the oldest space company in the region. Theyve been building engines for space travel for 51 years in the Puget Sound area. They produce more than 500 engines each year and just delivered their 20,000th engine over the summer.

This article was originally published by KOMO News here.

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How one Redmond company is sending US back to the moon, beyond - Seattle PI

A Kirkcaldy inventor is to appear on an international TV show in order to show off his invention.

Brian McCormack has created a range of solubleproducts which he hopes will help solve the worlds environmental problems.

The taxi driver, and former miner, has invented wet wipes capable of cleaning up mess and then dissolving in water.

He has been invited to show off his new dissolving wet wipes on El Hormiguero, one of the biggest TV shows in Spain and South America, which broadcasts daily.

The comedy and science show features experiments, stunts, and celebrity guests such asWill Smith, Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman and Hugh Laurie.

Normal wet wipes arent biodegradable, and are made of plastic fibre which is often wrongly flushed down the toilet.

They can present a danger to wildlife or become stuck as part of fatbergs which clog up sewer networks.

Brian said it was a huge honour to be invited to appear on the show.

He added: Its great to be invited to appear on an international TV show.

Its really exciting.Itll be live so therell be no room for mistakes.

Its not every day a Kirkcaldy guy gets asked to be in international TV - especially when its the taxi driver that just picked you up last Friday night.

Ill give them a demonstration of the soluble wet wipes by cleaning something up then dissolving it in water.

Im looking forward to seeing who else they have on as there are a lot of big names appear on El Hormiguero.Brian added that hes keen to show off the environmental potential of the soluble wet wipes

Normal wet wipes make up 80 per cent of fatbergs. They bind everything together and it ends up like cement.

Mine just disolve in water no problem.

Brian has also made soluble bandages which he hopes can help burns victims, and recently began working with the Strathclyde Aerospace Centre of Excellence.

They are looking to use his technology for space travel, where packaging could be disolved after use.

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Fife inventor set to appear on international TV show - Fife Today

Why it matters: NASA is keen on returning astronauts to the Moon within the next five years, a project it sees as a stepping stone in eventually getting humans to Mars. Even with the logistics of long-distance space travel worked out, scientists will need to carefully consider where they want to land on Mars as this could be the difference between a missions success and failure.

For a manned mission to Mars to have any chance of long-term success, astronauts will need to be able to harvest some of the planets natural resources namely, water in the form of ice. NASA, through data from its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Odyssey orbiter, has discovered that water ice is present in some regions as little as an inch below the surface.

You wouldn't need a backhoe to dig up this ice. You could use a shovel, said Sylvain Piqueux of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Such reserves could be invaluable when repurposed as drinking water and to make rocket fuel. Other aspects of life on Mars could also put this critical resource to good use.

(Cool colors are closer to the surface than warm colors; black zones indicate areas where a spacecraft would sink into fine dust; the outlined box represents the ideal region to send astronauts.)

Key concerns that scientists will need to further study before a potential mission include the concentration of ice at various locations, the depth at which the ice is located, the density of the atmosphere in a particular region and the hardness of the ground below (you dont want the spacecraft to sink in the dirt).

Fortunately, theres still plenty of time for analysis as itll likely be another couple of decades at the soonest before humans are ready to attempt the journey.

Originally posted here:

Mars has buried treasure in the form of water ice - TechSpot

50 years after Apollo 11, the nation and world look forward to a multi-pronged space program built on cooperation between NASA and many commercial ventures.

Monumental scenes defined the Sixties: Vietnam, Civil Rights, the Love Generation, Woodstock and Monterey, the advent of color TV, the arrival of mainframe computers in large business settings and the Space Race. Now, 50 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle onto Tranquility Base and first walked on the moon, were blasting off again.

What a time to be honoring Armstrong, Aldrin, and the other 10 men who walked on the moon. Were seeing excitement in the space program we havent seen since the Apollo era, with four generations involved, from older, nostalgic Apollo observers to robotics-building elementary school kids. Instead of operating under the central mission of beating the Soviets to the moon, were now venturing into an expanded program of deep-space exploration with probes and telescopes, near-Earth science and technology in our continued Space Station program, commercial space ventures that involve people and payloads, sustainable manned missions to the moon, and the sexiest ruby red where no man has gone before jewel in our astronautic grasp Mars.

Rather than focusing all experiments and technology on getting to the moon and back which seized a nations consciousness for eight years in the Sixties we now conduct earth science, medical, robotics, technological, materials development, and many other experiments in space. The technology we developed, then and now, serves our society in thousands of ways. And, we have increasingly deep buy-in from hundreds of commercial space ventures. The scene at Mays Space Tech Expo 2019 at the Pasadena Convention Center, near NASAs JPL lab (where the Mars missions are monitored) was rife with optimism: more than 250 space industry suppliers showed off everything from missile defense systems to cyro technology and tools for extracting minerals from the moon or, possibly even Mars.

Todays excitement reminds over-55 NASA officials, scientists, astronauts, and their partners in government and the commercial space world of what they felt as kids in those dreamy 1960s, when twenty manned missions launched into Earth and lunar orbits almost all fraught with danger and the unknown.

The things everyone is talking about today, we talked about then, former Deputy NASA Administrator and two-time Space Shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin recalled. Even then (in school), we were drawing pictures of flying cars and landing on Mars on our school folders, and the experts were talking matter-of-fact about Mars being the natural extension of walking on the moon. Since we didnt have devices and couldnt go online to look at footage, we had to imagine it, envision it. So my generation was a generation of dreamers.

The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to Mars. Im confident it can happen in my lifetime.

Added Apollo 8 flight engineer Poppy Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control during lunar missions, If I were a young boy or girl today, Id be as happy as the Baby Boomer kids were in the 60s but kids today have more opportunity to fly later, or work in the space program. Im really impressed with how robotics and technology are things they already understand.

The buzz builds every day. For starters, this 50th anniversary year has been far more than a nostalgic tribute to a specific date in time, though that will come July 20. Now, were awash with anticipation about a habitable, sustainable workstation growing on the lunar South Pole next decade, including NASAs goal of sending a manned crew by 2024.

One can hear those test-pilot, Right Stuff old-timer moonwalkers sighing and saying, Finally.

Here is what Apollo 11s Buzz Aldrin, a passionate Mars mission enthusiast throughout, said to this writer in 1993, for One Giant Leap for Mankind, NASAs 25th anniversary commemorative salute: I think well go to the poles of the moon first (before Mars). It gives you access to the far side, access to the potential shaded areas and access to some continuous sunlit regions for energy generation. Then we will probably visit the asteroids with robots, to explore the commercial recovery of asteroid material. Then as were converting some of this lunar knowledge to the expedition of Mars, I think well have private citizens visiting space.

Space X Falcon 9 and Dragon Launch (Courtesy of Space X)

Look at Aldrins quarter-century-old remarks against a few recent developments:

Three entrepreneurial titans have entered the commercial space ring big-time. Elon Musks Space X has sent dozens of satellites into orbit, including a nest of 60 internet satellites. Along with Virgin Galactic (Richard Branson) and Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos), the trio will beamong those leading the way in commercial spaceflights for private citizens, while Blue Origin is also squarely focused on the South Pole of the Moon.

In January, China landed its Change 4 lander near the lunar South Pole the first soft landing ever on the far side. Last year, it was verified that between 10,000 and one million gallons of water lie at the South Pole; difficult to extract, but its there.

Earlier this year, NASA reported great success at exploring unexpected asteroid environments from OSIRIS-REx, the probe that landed on the asteroid Bennu; and Hayabasa 2, a Japanese probe.

Our anticipation for a Mars mission is on overdrive, with shows like NatGeo Channels Mars, the movie The Martian, Stephan Petraneks book of the same name, the passionate advocacy of Neil deGrasse Tysons Cosmos reboot, the curriculum at U.S. Space Camp, and considerable technological work at NASA and private contractors pointing in one direction: were going.

No less than 20 nations now have a space program. In 1969, there were just three nations the U.S., USSR, and China.

For the first time in 20 years, money is being poured into NASA and commercial space interests rather than draining from it.

Like his fellow astronauts, Aldrin was chagrined when NASA ended the moon exploration program in 1972, following Eugene Cernans final walk on Apollo 17. Their anxiety and concern was evident in 1993, when our space program was at a low point. Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon (and who died in 2017), put it succinctly: I think I will remain the last man to have left his footprints on the moon for probably another generation, and thats a sad commentary.

Make that two generations and counting.

Further, wed lost Challenger six years prior, our nation was in a recession, the Cold War (and reason for having a space program) was over, incoming President Clinton promised to cut NASA funds, and our focus was on two new objects in near-earth orbit the International Space Station and Hubble Telescope, which unlocked the observable universe to us.

A few of their concerns and predictions:

Aldrin: For a better future, we must relinquish present greed for future greatness. To do that, you first have to have a strategic plan, which we dont. (Now, happily, we do).

Apollo 11s Michael Collins: Some day in the future, going into space will be extremely important and will definitely change the face of the Earth.

Apollo 14s Alan Shepard, also the first American in space in 1961: Basic research is too abstract for the American public. Its difficult to specify gain because one thing generates another, but by and large we all benefit from space research. But only the excitement of exploration will turn on the average individual.

Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the Moon: You have to show the public that they are getting some return on their investment. The space program and programs like it are creative programs because they create not only new technology, which also creates new materials, devices, and industries The space program is like drilling for oil. You might hit a number of dry holes but when youve hit, youve got a gusher.

Conrad, who died in 1999, worked passionately toward deeper-space missions. He flew twice on Gemini, commanded Apollo 12, and was our first Skylab commander. He was working on commercial manned launch vehicles at the time of his death, and rumored to be en route to Earth orbit as the second legacy astronaut NASA would send for a thank you ride (John Glenn being the first, in 1998).

Conrads commitment to developing space program technology was fierce, and also pointed to the greatest benefit the program has given us innovations and tech breakthroughs (see story on page 76), medical and Earth science, and materials development and engineering design. We will see how far weve come when we start extruding materials from the moon, asteroids, and Mars to sustain habitation and to refuel missions beginning with how we treat those native environments.

How we get at the water, or any other resource, is going to be critical to that planets sustainability of us moving forward, author Antonia Juhasz, a consultant on NatGeos Mars series, said. On Earth, weve extracted, polluted, and killed to the point where, even now, the planet cannot sustain most of us in a healthy manner. Thats only happened in the last 150 years of industrialization. Before that, we have thousands of years of living in harmony with our planet; we know how to do it. We can carry that part forward. If we learn that lesson, then we can live on Mars for a very long time and hopefully, become more sustainable on Earth as well so we maintain and protect this planet.

As we move ahead, its time to stop looking at space travel as a NASA or American launch, or a Russian launch, or a Chinese launch. Were more than NASA now. On any given launch, products and materials from upwards of a dozen nations are on the trip. Furthermore, commercial space plans are developing just as quickly as NASAs. Its time to view our push forward to the moon, and Mars, and our near-earth orbit and deep space efforts as a fleet of missions, built around the driving forces of exploration, discovery, technology development, and our furtherance as a species. Besides Space X, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, new companies making big moves include:

Space IL, Israel (lunar rover deployment);

Axiom, USA (space station to replace ISS when it retires in the 2020s; for astronauts, space tourists, and in-orbit research; missions tentatively scheduled to start in late 2019);

SpacePharma, USA (production of bacteria for help with Earth-borne diseases);

The Cohu Experience and Space Nation, Finland (open competition to send a space tourist to the ISS to conduct experiments);

Deep Space Industries, USA, partnering with Luxembourg (mining asteroids for metallic resources, water, and ice for potential way-station refuels on future Mars missions);

Bigelow Aerospace, USA (constructing portable habitats for astronauts. We believe crews traveling to the moon, Mars, asteroids, or other destinations could use them as habitable structures or as labs or work areas, said NASA Project Manager Rajib Dasgupta.);

Vulcan Aerospace, USA (Orbital launches that rely on high-atmosphere planes to develop small payloads into Earth orbit; founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen);

Odyne Space, USA (Getting nanosatellites into space cheaper by working on more efficient rockets for smaller amounts of cargo);

Rocket Lab, New Zealand (creation of a launch vehicle designed for manufacture at scale; its first rocket, launched in 2015, cost just $4.9 million);

Ixion, USA (working with NanoRacks, Space Systems Loral, and the United Launch Alliance to convert upper stages of rockets (which have considerable hollow interior space) into long-term habitable environments for Earth orbit, the moon, or even Mars);

Firefly Space, USA (light rocket design for nanosatellite payloads of as many as 100 small satellites per mission).

Within these and many other initiatives, the Apollo and Gemini astronauts still alive can enjoy their legacies stretching on new wings. From Aldrins Mars fascination to Shepards focus on Earth sciences and the environment, from Cernans angst over no more manned exploration to Conrads determination to press the technology forward, were seeing their visions, views, and hopes come to pass.

I think its really important for a society to have optimism and to see a future for itself and be a player in its own destiny. Exploring space is such a perfect metaphor for that, said Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society. You have to create new technologies and processes from scratch. You have to work together with other people, internationally. Youre doing it for curiosity, science, maybe extending human presence different than what weve done in the past. We have to take care of ourselves and the act of exploring space will bring that benefit to us. If we can get ourselves together and organize ourselves properly, I feel we will see this in our lifetime.

What an exciting next 50 years its going to be.

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